sweet potato-cinnamon swirl coffee cake

if you haven't already figured it out, i have a thing for bundt cakes.  whether they are chocolate, loaded with spices or chock full of fruit, i love them.  more than likely, i just love the pans.  i don't eat large quantities of the cakes-just slivers here and there.  but i do love hunting for bundt pans in the thrift stores and i have at least half a dozen different pans to choose from.

bundt cake recipes are generally pretty flexible and if you have one good one, you can easily turn it into a dozen great recipes.  this recipe would easily work with pumpkin or butternut squash.  it would also work with apples or pears that were chopped rather than pureed.  there's a few to get you started, how many more can you think of?  trust me, i will do more than just think about it.

sweet potato-cinnamon swirl coffee cake

1 (10) cup bundt pan serving 12-16

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

1 cup baked and mashed sweet potato-nothing added to it

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder
1teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons pecan pieces, toasted and chopped small
1 teaspoon cinnamon

preheat the oven to 350.  grease and flour the pan and set it aside.  in the bowl of a large food processor, combine the butter, sugar, sweet potato, salt and vanilla.  pulse to combine.  with the motor running, add the eggs, one at a time.  be sure to scrape the bowl at least once.  dump this mixture into a large mixing bowl.  place the flour, baking powder and pie spice into a sifter or a mesh strainer and sift it over the batter in the bowl.  fold the flour in a couple times, sprinkle the buttermilk over the surface and fold together until no streaks remain.  scrape 2/3 of the batter into the pan and smooth out the top.  in a small bowl, stir together the dark brown sugar, pecan pieces and the cinnamon.  spread it evenly over the top of the batter.  carefully top the ribbon with the remaining batter, smooth it out and bake until a pick inserted comes out clean, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.  cool in the pan for about 15-20 minutes and then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.